Mac DeMarco: how a Montreal 'slacker' made one of the best records of 2012

Sandra Sperounes, Postmedia News12.18.2012

Lo-fi rocker Mac DeMarco is finding success surreal. The Montreal by way of Edmonton musician talks about making sense of international buzz and how it's possible to sit around in your underpants all day and still make one of the best records of the year.

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EDMONTON - "I'm just paying for an oil change," says Mac DeMarco, as he answers his cellphone from a Montreal garage. The rocker is getting his "soccer mom-style" Volvo station wagon ready for a trek across Canada as the opener for Japandroids, the rising Vancouver punk duo recently named Spin's band of the year.

DeMarco's career is starting to switch into high gear, too -- from obscure act to international Internet sensation. The singer-songwriter, 22, is one of a growing number of Edmonton expats making their mark in the world of blogs, indie music festivals and YouTube videos.

Many of these expats live in the Montreal neighbourhood of Mile End -- including chameleon Sean Nicholas Savage, and rapper Cadence Weapon, one of this year's Polaris Music Prize finalists. The two perform Wednesday, Dec. 26 at Edmonton's Wunderbar.

Then, there's cinematographer Evan Prosofsky, who recently shot music videos for Bat For Lashes, Grizzly Bear, Toro Y Moi and synth-priestess Grimes. There's also Corin Roddick of Purity Ring. His electro-pop duo is now making best-of-lists around the world for their dazzling debut, Shrines.

So far, DeMarco's lo-fi rock debut, 2, is on two of those lists, both compiled by British publications/sites: The Stool Pigeon (No. 3) and NME (No. 29). He can't really explain his sudden popularity -- or that of his Edmonton-bred friends.

"I don't know, I guess there are just talented musicians coming out of Edmonton," he says. "It's cool that people are into my album, but it's also kind of surprising to me. Nothing to complain about. I never thought any kind of success would happen, so I'm just taking it as it comes. It's more than I could've EVER imagined."

His success may feel surreal, but then, DeMarco is like the Salvador Dali of indie rock. Instead of painting melted watches, his music sounds like warped vinyl -- mellow, jangly riffs (courtesy of his '60s-era Sears guitar), warm and breezy vocals, and conversational lyrics about cigarettes (Ode To Viceroy), girls (My Kind of Woman) and fame/music (The Stars Keep On Calling My Name).

He says most of his words are off-the-cuff, recorded at the spur of the moment in his Montreal apartment -- sometimes as his girlfriend falls asleep. Still Together, a heartfelt lullaby at the end of 2, includes audio of DeMarco waking up his groggy partner after he finished recording the tune.

"Usually, it's just me at home. I'll make up a guitar line, then press record," he says. "I usually leave the lyrics to the very end. I wrote 2 in about a week; I guess it was pretty quick."

As sunny as the album sounds, darkness always hovers on the horizon. One of the 2's catchiest songs, Freaking out the Neighbourhood, is actually an apology to his mom and aunt, written after one of his more notorious gigs in Montreal. He ended up clenching some drum sticks with something other than his two hands -- and, naturally, one of his friends posted video of the feat on YouTube.

"I was really, really drunk," he says. "My clothes came off. As beer poured into me, some drum sticks found their way into my bare rectum. My friend took a video of it and my mom and aunt ended up seeing it on YouTube. I'm not going to make any promises that I won't do something like that again, so if something else comes up, I can just put the song on for her again."

He's not necessarily trying to shock, but he's a bit of a rebel wrapped up in a goofball, who may like to bend the truth a wee bit. As a child, he didn't listen to a lot of music and resisted taking singing or piano lessons because his entire family was filled with musicians.

As a teen, DeMarco fell in love with the Beatles and their subsequent projects -- after surviving his mom's brief pop-country phase. "I remember listening to the Plastic Ono Band when I was 14 and thinking, 'WHOA, THIS IS CRAZY.'" In Grade 12, he started playing in bands, including The Meat Cleavers, a "muscleman, chongo, bar-rock" joke band; The Sound of Love, a sexy, R&B band; and Belgium/Outdoor Miners.

About four years ago, the Strathcona High School grad moved to Vancouver and started Makeout Videotape with another Edmonton expat, drummer Alex Calder. (The latter's track, Suki and Me, was recently featured on Pitchfork. He, too, relocated to Montreal, only two doors down from DeMarco.)

While the outflux of so many Edmonton musicians is alarming, DeMarco says he didn't leave because he thought the city was impeding his success.

"Initially, it had nothing to do with music. I just thought: 'You turn 18, you move away.' A lot of people get the impression that I have no loyalty to (Edmonton), but I just want to check out new spots, meet new people. I like Edmonton a lot, but it's a little too cold for me, to tell you the truth."

DeMarco says he only got serious about his craft on the west coast -- after his first Makeout Videotape EP started getting noticed in Vancouver. People started buying him drinks, putting him on guest lists for other gigs. "I like this," he thought. He returned to Edmonton for a few months in 2010, if only to build up his health and bank account after one too many money-losing tours.

"I was so broke, wearing all these sketchy clothes I collected in all these weird people's houses, and my health was screwed up," says DeMarco. He crashed at his mom's house, met his current girlfriend, then decided to follow his friends east.

As much as he appreciates Montreal's affordability and blossoming community of Edmonton expats, DeMarco misses Vancouver -- and even his hometown. Yet he admits it doesn't matter where he lives in Canada. Like many of our artists, he draws larger crowds and sells more albums in Europe than North America. Britain and France are particular DeMarco hot spots.

"We recently played a show in Paris and it was in a giant, giant venue, like 600 people or something," he says. "It was completely sold out, a week before. To me, that's like 'What the? This never happens in North America; why is it happening in France?' It's really strange but cannot complain about that."

While DeMarco's music is often described as slacker rock, he's not a lazy bum. Not only did he release and tour Rock and Roll Night Club and 2 in 2012, he found time to play bass for an album by Walter TV, which features two members of DeMarco's touring band.

His label is already bugging him about his next album, while his booking agents are fighting over his 2013 tour schedule, trying to figure out which countries he can play in and when. He says an EP might be ready for the spring.

"Before, if I got fired from a job or quit my job, I'd be like: 'OK, let's take a week and make an album.' Now, making an album is my job," says DeMarco, who counts stocking vegetables as his last non-musical gig.

"I don't really have to work anymore, so I'm either recording or sitting in my underwear, doing nothing. I guess you can be a slacker in Montreal. Well, not lately. I guess we've been touring a whole bunch."

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Mac DeMarco: how a Montreal 'slacker' made one of the best records of 2012